Water Wise - Saving Money and the Chesapeake Bay

Learn ways to save money and conserve water at  the Chevy Chase Citizens Association Garden Club's monthly meeting to be held, Tuesday, April 19th at 7:30 p.m.

This meeting is the club's  annual green meeting and will feature speakers from the EPA, the DC Dept of the Environment and a landscape designer who will discuss water-smart landscaping.

The meeting is in the Chevy Chase Community Center, Connecticut Avenue and McKinley Street, NW, at 7:30 pm. Everyone is welcome, come and bring friends.

For more details visit the CCCA website.

Can we outwit the stinkbugs?

Last fall I wrote a post called Stopping Stinkbugs without Poisons. Since these nasty little pests are predicted to cause more problems this year, I wanted to pass along this great post I saw on Susan Reimer's Garden Variety column.

Susan wondered if there are any type of vegetable plants that are less susceptible to stinkbug problems so she asked Ellen Nibali of the University of Maryland Extension's Home and Garden Information Center what she would recommend.

Here is some of the information from Ellen Nibali, as excerpted from Susan's blog post:

Early crops will probably avoid the wrath of the stink bugs, at least intense damage. Also, very late crops. So, timing is something to experiment with. ... 

we can say for certain that legumes, tomatoes, pepper and sweet corn were heavily infested last year . 

All of which is to say, plant other crops. Try lettuce or eggplant or any of the brassicas--cabbage, Brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radish, turnips, etc. Stink bugs have been seen on eggplant, but no injury has been officially reported. 

In the case of tomatoes, we suspected that the thicker-skinned varieties may have been less attractive to the stink bugs. 

Incidentally, blueberries and blackberries were reported to have no injury. Red raspberries, I can say from experience, were hammered. 

To read the full post, visit Susan Reimer's Garden Variety column.

More about the Brown Marmorated Stinkbug can be found on the Invasive Species page from the University of Maryland Extension.

Earth Day on the National Mall - April 16th & 17th

EPA Earth Day on the National Mall
April 16-17, 2011, Washington, DC
National Mall between 4th and 7th Streets
Saturday 10am-5pm, Sunday 10am-3pm

Come join the fun on Saturday and Sunday! EPA’s Earth Day tent will contain 40 exhibits on clean air, clean water, green technology, green jobs, rain gardens, composting, an environmental crime scene and other ways in which EPA works to protect human and health and the environment. For children, eco-activities will include:

• "Earth Tales," co-sponsored with The Library of Congress, features environmentally-themed story time, read by VIPs hourly. Saturday 11-4.
• "Bash the Trash" will be an exciting opportunity for kids to build musical instruments from trash and recycled materials and create an “earth symphony.” Sunday 10-3.
• "Eco Art" is co-hosted by the Capital Hill Arts Workshop and invites kids to paint an earth-friendly image on a post card, and mail it from the event courtesy of the Post Office and their new “Go Green” stamp launch. Both days.

For more information, visit: EPA Earthday events

Pros and cons for a White House wildlife garden

 

"I have been astonished at the small epiphanies I see in the eyes of a child in truly close contact with nature, perhaps for the first time. This can happen to grown-ups too, reminding them of something they never knew they had forgotten."

Quote from Robert Michael Pyle, one of the world's leading experts on butterflies.

Okay. Maybe I was wrong.

In a previous post, I said that I thought that Mrs. Obama should start a wildlife garden on the White House property to help encourage kids to get outside to appreciate nature.

It's certainly no secret that I feel that getting kids outside, eye-to-eye with the critters in their own yards and gardens, is a great way to encourage future generations of environmental stewards. And I thought that a White House wildlife  garden would be a great way to combine the efforts of organizations such as The Children and Nature Network, The National Wildlife Federation, America's Great Outdoors initiative through the Council of Environmental Quality and Mrs. Obama's Let's Move campaign.

But this week in my garden, I quickly learned that I was wrong. I now believe that  a wildlife garden on the White House grounds might not really be the best way to get kids to exercise and move more.

Why did I change my tune? Because the birds and the butterflies and the hummingbirds are visiting my yard and I've had a really hard time trying to motivate myself to move. I'm mesmerized. I really want to just sit and enjoy them, and marvel at the fact that after YEARS of tending an eco-friendly landscape, the yard has gotten to the point where hummingbirds feel completely comfortable hanging out on a tomato cage in a potted plant that isn't more than 9 feet from our front door.

Oh, I definitely still feel that eco-friendly gardens are a great place to get kids involved with nature. But the goal of the Let's Move campaign is to get kids moving and my husband will be the first one to tell you that when there are butterflies and hummingbirds in the yard, it's going to be really hard getting me to move.

Still, a wildlife garden on the White House property might not be such a bad idea after all. There are many Health Benefits to tending an eco-friendly garden. The kids can burn all sorts of calories digging and weeding and planting veggies. And then they can run, run, run over to the wildlife garden and sit in awe as they  munch a fist full of fresh peas or beans. After all, there are lots of health benefits in joy, pride, inspiration and awe, too.

Let's Move: America's Move to Raise a Healthier Generation of Kids

America's Great Outdoors Initiative: Council on Environmental Quality

Sign up for Washington Youth Garden's Family Program

Embark upon an exciting journey with your family and others in learning how to grow and prepare fruits and vegetables in creative and healthy ways with the Washington Youth Garden's family program, Growing Food...Growing Together. Participants learn and work collectively in communal gardening areas, share in the harvest of mutually grown organic produce, and experience healthy cooking demonstrations, nutrition instruction, farmers' market visits, and more!

Program occurs every Saturday morning beginning May 7; for the first time this year there will be rolling enrollment March through July where families can enroll in anywhere from 5 to 15 sessions. Each Saturday is capped at 25 families, so early registration is strongly encouraged! Each Saturday will feature a cooking demonstration with a local chef - check their website throughout the season to see which chef will be featured each Saturday.

Registration for any month's sessions must occur on or before the 15th of the preceding month. Registration for May Saturdays will be closed April 15th, so contact them now if you'd like to join them in May.

For more information about the program, visit the Washington Youth Garden website.
--
Information supplied by Kacie Warner
Education Coordinator
Washington Youth Garden
Friends of the National Arboretum
office: 202-245-2709
www.washingtonyouthgarden.org

Anacostia Tree Planting - April 16th

On Saturday, April 16, 2011, COG DEP is hosting a tree planting with the Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission – Prince George’s County, in Riverdale, MD from 9:00 A.M. to Noon.

We have 200 trees to plant and mulch and could use your assistance.  This is a great opportunity for students to gain community service credit hours while learning about the environment in their region.

Come and get some exercise to start your Saturday and learn about the Anacostia Watershed and Chesapeake Bay Restoration efforts.

• Come reforest the banks of the Northeast Branch to help clean the Anacostia River and fight climate change.

• We will be planting approximately 200 native trees and shrubs (holes will be pre-dug).

• No experience necessary.

Anacostia Tree Planting Event

Saturday, April 16th
9 a.m. to Noon
6600 Kenilworth Ave
Riverdale, MD 20737
(Behind the Elks Lodge)

 Location: The Anacostia River Park  isalong the Northeast Branch in Prince George's County. Traveling north on Kenilworth Avenue from River Road, the planting site is located behind the Elks Lodge. Parking is available in the M-NCPPC visitor parking lot located at 6600 Kenilworth Avenue (Riverdale, MD).

For more information, visit Anacostia Tree Planting Event

Takoma DC Library Grounds Workday - April 16th

The Takoma DC Library needs your help cleaning up the library grounds to
get the garden ready for Spring.

WHEN:  Saturday, April 16, 2011 from 2 to 4pm
WHERE: DC Takoma Park Neighborhood Library
        416 Cedar Street, NW
        Washington, DC 20012

REFRESHMENTS WILL BE SERVED!!!!!

QUESTIONS?:  Contact Rachel Meit  at rachel.meit@dc.gov or (202) 576-7252

INFO ABOUT THE LIBRARY:
Website: http://dclibrary.org
Facebook www.facebook.com/dclibrary

Celebrate Earth Month at H20 Fest - Thinking Green to Protect Blue

Help celebrate Earth Month 2011 by joining WSSC and friends on Saturday, April 9 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for H₂O Fest - Thinking Green to Protect Blue

This free event will be held at 12900 Great Seneca Hwy, Germantown, MD 20874 (just past NW H.S.)

Local students, staff from local government agencies and representatives from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Izaak Walton League will be on hand to help the public celebrate how thinking green can protect blue.

People of all ages can learn how to preserve and protect our water source through a variety of activities and resources, including: composting and recycling information, waste reduction ideas, rain barrel/pest control demonstrations, children’s activities and recycled materials crafts, tours of the Seneca Wastewater Treatment Plant, environmental car displays and demonstrations, and master gardener tips.

For information about more great events planned for Earth Month, visit the WSSC website Earth Month Page or download the PDF flyer here.

Call 811 ~ Can you dig it?

Have you ever been out digging in your yard and realized that you have just unearthed some sort of underground utility line? If you haven't, then consider yourself lucky.

To make sure that this never does happen to you, remember the number "811".

8-1-1 is a new federally mandated, easy to remember number that anyone can use to have utility lines marked before they begin a digging project.

Homeowners often make risky assumptions about whether or not they should get their utility lines marked, but every digging job requires a call - even "small" projects like planting trees and shrubs.

When you call before you dig, you'll prevent unintended consequences such as injury to you or your family, damage to your property, utility service outages to the entire neighborhood and potential fines and repair costs.

After all, do you really want to be the person who knocks out the neighborhood's cable service during the big game? Want to avoid spending a day in the dark? It's as simple as 8-1-1.

Call 811 from anywhere in the country a few days prior to digging, and your call will be routed to your local One Call Center. Tell the operator where you're planning to dig, what type of work you will be doing and your affected local utilities companies will be notified about your intent to dig. In a few days, they'll send a locator to mark the approximate location of your underground lines, pipes and cables, so you'll know what's below - and be able to dig safely.

Remember, always call 811 before you start any digging project! You'll avoid injury, expense, embarrassment - and a very inconvenient day in the dark.

Urban Nature Gardening With Kids - April 2nd

I'm a big fan of Alison Gillespie, both for her writing and for her dedication to helping to preserve the beauty of the landscape around us.

This Saturday, April 2, 2011, Alison will be presenting a talk on how to turn even tiny spaces into places where children can experience the wonders of nature.


The program, presented by the Anacostia Watershed Society (AWS), will be from 10:00am - 12:00pm at the AWS Office, 4302 Baltimore Avenue, Bladensburg, MD 20710

About the program:

When you dreamt of being a parent, you imagined chasing butterflies through meadows and counting acorns in the woods with your kids. Now, in present day reality, you find yourself living on a city lot the size of a postage stamp and worry that your child with grow up with "nature deficit disorder." Local gardener, writer and parent Alison Gillespie will share ideas for meeting these challenges, as well as a practical list of ideas and plants that can turn even a tiny space into an arena for experiencing the wonder of nature. Inexperienced gardeners are welcome and encouraged to attend! 

RSVP: Please e-mail info@anacostiaws.org or click here to RSVP so we can plan accordingly!

To get a sample of some of the "wonder" that Alison has to impart, read this post that she shared with us back in February, or visit her blog:

Where You Are Planted

For more information about the Anacostia Watershed Society, click their logo below.

And be sure to visit our Calendar page for more upcoming events sponsored by the Anacostia Watershed Society and other great local groups.